I remember that I was not amused when my GreatGrandmother dipped everything into everything... She loved to dip her rolls or croissants into her coffee or milk or whatever she had for breakfast. She dipped her bread into the soup - yes, she really loved to eat bread with her soup...

I do not dunk. Well, with exceptions. The only thing I dip my bread into is a bowl filled with steaming glouash and I love to dip Soletti into Liptauer - when we are at a Heuriger.

Why?

Quite simply, there is no other way for me to eat and enjoy Goulash or Liptauer.

It's just too good to dip pieces of bread into this thick, creamy sauce that is so full of different flavours making your mouth water and long for more and more. I did't care about the meat pieces, no!

I always tried to sneak them on my neighbours plate. My Grandfather who still makes the best Goulash, always got kind of angry at us when there were plenty of meat pieces left in the bowl after lunch but not a drop of sauce was to be seen.

"There is no way to cook a good sauce without that meat.", he'd always tell us while he took the bowl back into the kitchen muttering what he should do with all that good meat now. Well he was always creative enough to include it to our dinner...

Three things that are just meant to be enjoyed together. This was our favorite food as children when we were at a Heuriger with the whole family. Usually this took place on weekends after a nice long afternoon walk through the woods. 1 serving of delicious Liptauer (the mild, not the sharp one) and each of us got a small package Soletti. This was accompanied by our favorite drinks like Himbeerkracherl (a soft drink which is raspberry flavored) or Frucade! How beautiful and simple life was back then! :o)

One of my colleagues likes dip his "Gipferl" (crescents) into his "Gaugau" (hot cocoa). When we had breakfast together during our early morning project meetings, we always hat a lot of fun, when the team enjoyed their "Gipferl and Gaugau" for breakfast ... dipped or not. Today we no longer have breakfasts together since the project is long over and we are working in different locations now as well.

Are you ready for some Goulash and Liptauer now?

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Goulash

Family recipe from Grandpa (my adaptations in brackets)Ingredients:6-8 servings
2 kg foreshank
2 kg onions (I like the white ones best)6-8 cloves crushed garlic - or more300 g of lard (I replace this with 150 gr cleared butter)1-2 tablespoons paprika (noble sweet), may also be a bit more1-3 tsp hot paprika, but I do not use as much because I like do not like it that spicy2-3 tablespoons tomato paste
2-3 tablespoons of a mixture of dried majoram, cumin and zest of one lemon (I use only 1 tablespoon ground cumin and the zest of 1/2 lemon, plus a bit of pepper)salt

Method:

Cut the meat into bite size pieces (do not clean off fat or tendons).

Peel the onions and cut very finely, then slowly fry with lard in a pan until lightly browned. We do not want to have very brown onions otherwise it will taste slightly bitter.

Remove pan from heat, sprinkle with the two paprika powders and add the roughly chopped meat. Salt to taste and add crushed garlic, tomato paste and other spices.

Cook the meat in its own juices until tender, until the meat is tender and the onions have collapsed. Do not forget to stir often, add liquid when it get too dry.

When the meat is soft, add justt as much water to cover the pieces of meat and cook just until the pieces of meat start to fall apart on their own.

Optional: Often we also add 1-2 big splashes of red wine and, if the sauce was too thin, thickened it with the addition of some rye bread. I like the slight taste of red wine in the goulash and made the experience that the rye bread also adds a nice flavor.

Serve the goulash with home made dark bread (mostly rye bread or a variation of rye bread).

Notes: It is really essential to use foreshanks for this goulash, because the fat and tendons in this part of meat plus the larger mount of onions thicken the sauce on its own. Sounds weird but that's how it works and makes this disah so unique, you won't notice the fat and tendons once the dish is ready because they literally will have melted into the sauce!
Another important thing is that you really cook it long and slow, it should simmer rather, never cook!

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You know when it comes to cooking, my Dad would back out of the kitchen as quick as a laserbeam!

He says he does not cook, never ever!

He'll help with the dishes and stuff but he'd never cook. He is frantically stressed with getting his hand "dirty" with food stuff. So he avoids to be a part of the cooking business whenever he has a chance to..

Nevertheless, there are a few dishes that are very popular in our family that can simply not be made without him: he makes the world's best scrambled eggs, the crispest french fries or chips (yes in my family these were home made - in my childhood, and they were a special treat since he did not make them often), the thinnest pancakes (just the way we loved them) and also the world's best Liptauer of course.